Good luck with the new job! I'll have to start checking this site out more.

Yeah, no doubt some people are born engineers or at least have the ability/desire to explore and learn new things. Some people I think are pushed into the field simply because they're good at math and/or science and it's generally a good job. I'm not sure if that's good or bad.

I like the Thor's Hammer with small Tesla Coil built-in Excellent. I'd like to try making a Tesla coil as a garden fixture in lieu of a water fountain. There's something comforting and calming about that zapping sound. One year at DESIGN West we had a DIY panel with editors and some industry people: that year's theme was LEDs. Maybe next years could involve a Tesla coil. Hmmm....probably not a good idea.

Caleb: Anyone who helps the handicapped play games and still has time to blow stuff up can't be all bad. You sound like you're going to put the fun back into the workbench -- and lets face it, we all wanna have some fun, right? Welcome!